In praise of the present
The local gift economy is really something. I’ve lived in a lot of places, large and small, and nowhere is the tradition of handing off random stuff to your friends and neighbors so strong and vital.
Columns
2018 was good for some harvests, disastrous for others
Little damage was suffered by my blueberries, probably thanks to some experimental traps developed by Peter Jentsch of Cornell University.
The ice age at the Mountain Top Arboretum
The Mountain Top Arboretum, located just north of Tannersville, is home to a collection of mostly local and native tree species.
The worst time for clouds
On Saturday and Sunday nights, Dec. 15 and 16, Bob expects Comet Wirtanen to achieve naked-eye visibility – the first comet in years to do so.
Kids’ Almanac (12/13-12/20)
See It’s a Wonderful Life on the big screen at UPAC.
Kingston After Dark: BillyBio’s crazy Petri dish
Graziadei kindly spoke to me in advance of his upcoming tour with Thy Will Be Done which touches down at The Loft in Poughkeepsie on Thursday, Dec. 13.
The preppers are coming to town
The New York Times alerts us to a new trend: millennials buying property in the Catskills because it’s “filled with natural resources.” The piece makes for a satisfying rage-read.
Kids’ Almanac (12/6-13)
Into the Light at Kaatsbaan; Holiday Cookie Decorating for Kids; Frozendale; Snowflake Festival
Comet over the Hudson Valley and other cool stuff for December
Comet Wirtanen will soon pay Earth its closest-ever visit. It should be large and blobby-looking, appearing as a fuzzy glob the size of the full Moon.
Belleayre’s long shadow
It’s the end of an era. Dean Gitter, the Don Quixote of the Catskills, the singular force of nature behind the decades-long effort to build the Belleayre Resort atop Highmount, has died.
